Jeanie Lee Hang Ngai (; born 26 August 1987), better known by her stage name Gin Lee, is a Malaysian singer of Chinese descent. She is currently based in Hong Kong. Gin Lee debuted her singing career in 2009 by releasing her debut album ONE & ONLY in Malaysia. In 2010, she appeared on Hong Kong reality television singing competition The Voice 2 and gained popularity in Hong Kong for her vocal ability.
Gin Lee subsequently moved to Hong Kong and made her Cantonese debut in 2011 under BMA Records with the EP Here I Come. She gained popularity in mainland China when she participated in the singing competition The Voice of China (season 4) in which Jay Chou was her mentor. In 2016, she signed with Universal Music (Hong Kong). Her 2016 album beGin topped the Hong Kong Record Merchants Association (HKRMA) sales chart for four weeks and was certified platinum by the Hong Kong Recording Industry Alliance (HKRIA). Singles from beGin achieved 61 number ones on music charts. She released her live recording concept album Live in the Moment in September 2017. The album was met with commercial success, topping the HKRMA sales chart for four consecutive weeks and reached gold certification within two months. Gin Lee's cousin is Malaysian singer Meeia Foo.
Life and career
Early life and career beginnings
Gin Lee was born in Johor Bahru, Malaysia to a family with music background. Her father was a professional drummer, her mother a live singer, and she has an elder sister. Gin Lee recalls in an interview in 2016, "I started singing in front of people when I was three or four. My parents used to ask me to go on stage to sing for my relatives and I always loved performing in my kindergarten and primary school." Gin Lee was part of her high school's track and field team, focusing on sprinting, but later stopped training due to persisting injuries. When she was 18 years old, she won Malaysia's Universal Music song writing competition. In 2007, she graduated from International College Of Music (ICOM) in Malaysia with a bachelor's degree, majoring in vocal music and arrangement. She released her debut Mandarin album ONE & ONLY through Fretlezz Production in Malaysia on 29 December 2009, writing most of the songs on it. The album was nominated at the 17th Malaysian Music Industry Awards for Best Local Chinese Album.
Gin Lee appeared on Taiwanese singing competition Super Idol (of which her cousin Meeia Foo won second place in season 2) in May 2010, performing "Superwoman" and appeared on Hong Kong singing competition The Voice 2 as a challenger in August. Her performance of "Xin Bu Le Qing" 新不了情 earned a final score of 89.2 points, with judge and veteran singer Teresa Caprio awarding her 100 points. In the following round, Gin Lee sang "If I Ain't Got You" but lost 87 to 92 points to Mag Lam, who went on to win the competition.
2011–2014: Hong Kong debut under BMA
In 2011, Gin Lee moved to Hong Kong and learned Cantonese on her own. She debuted as a Cantopop artist under record label BMA with the EP Here I Come. Tracks 1 and 2 (廢話少說 and 潛水) were released as singles, with the latter topping the Metro Radio pop chart. A special edition containing cover versions of "Superwoman" and "If I Ain't Got You" (produced by Malaysian-Chinese singer Gary Chaw) was released on 16 December. Gin Lee won the 2012 Metro Radio Hits Newcomer Award (Overseas).
In 2012, Falling was released as a single in support of her upcoming album, topping the Jade Solid Gold billboard and CRHK Ultimate 903 chart. "1st Date" was released was the second plug, and the self-titled studio album Gin Lee was released on 30 July 2012. The third single "Returning Home Alone Today" 今天終於一人回家 was well received, reaching number one on the RTHK Chinese chart and Metro Radio chart. The song garnered Gin Lee two awards at the 2012 Hong Kong Metro Radio Hit Music Awards: Hit Popular Singer and Hit New Media Song. In September 2013, Gin Lee was voted the Best Performance Artiste of Malaysia at the 13th Global Chinese Music Awards (GCMA).